Toy Box

 

Zoe-In-The-Box

My new studio in a bag arrived and I had some fun with the dogs.  I hauled out the toy box, opened it and invited the girls to explore.  After trying to remove (and perhaps seriously hurt) each of the stuffies, Zoe decided to get in the box with them.  Asked her to sit and we got Zoe-In-A-Box.  She kept popping up and down, trying to get the stuffy I strategically placed at her feet.  Was fun.  Next up..........

 

Sassy-ala-ET

Sassy was very quick to get in the box, following Zoes example but she wanted to lay down and hide.  So I put the toys around the edge of the box and she had to sit up to see out.  This remined me of the scene from ET where he's hiding in the closet full of stuffies. 

 

Where's the Baby

When Sassy first joined our little family, at 12 weeks of age, she got called "The Baby" until she put an end to that by sassing me back one day.  Anyway, Zoe will look for "The Baby" when asked and she's doing that here.  Sassy is looking at me like I'm blind "can't I see her right here!!".

Surf'n Sassy

 

Sassy's Picks

This week after a very successful obedience class on Wednesday evening and another on Thursday morning Sassy was wondering why the clicker seems to work so well.  

So she went surf'n and found these interesting places:

Here was an article about clickers and why they work.  A little dry but very informative.

Then she found these fun and interesting videos.  She's thinking of trying some of them!

And finally, though this is not clicker training it's still very interesting. Sassy's only question here was: How do you stifle a stifle?  Just a little doggy humour, very little!!

Dancing Dogs

Zoe and Dressage

Zoe and I are involved with a local group of dog dancers.  We call ourselves The Island K9 Freestylers.  In this group is quite the mix from Yorkies to Berners, mixed breed to purebred.

The thing we have in common is our love of music and our dogs.  So when you combine the two this is what you get. As a group we have put on 2 competitions locally, traveled to the mainland and participated in their competitions and are planning to attend 2 more competitions this year.

Zoe and I have been working on a dressage routine for the last couple of months and hopefully will perform in Vancouver this spring and earn our Dressage Novice 3 title. Dressage with your dog is a little bit different than dressage with your horse.  Basically it is precision heeling to music.  In the first level the only required elements are that the dog maintain the heel position with a change of pace and show they understand where they belong.  At level 2 the degree of difficulty rises with the dog having to backup, in a straight line, to 4 of the handlers step.  Zoe and I had to try three times before we passed this level.  I learned that it's all about trust.  Zoe had to learn to trust that I was not going to back her into anything, no matter where we were. We are currently working on our Level 3 routine where the degree of difficulty now includes side passes as well as maintaining heel position and backing up.  The side passes must be performed from the heel position, either side, and go in both directions.  Zoe does wonderful side passes away from me, where I'm stepping into her. Unfortunately the towards me passes are a little more difficult. This is what we are working on. Zoe must maintain the heel position, perpendicular to my leg, no turning towards me, no angling off to the side.  This is proving to be the hardest for Zoe.  Luckily we have lots of time to work on this.

In Freestyle dance with your dog the rules are slightly different.  In Freestyle you are encouraged to perform tricks with your dog, have a theme to your routine and put it all to music.  This team was performing to a Big Band piece called Bugle Boy.  They were very flashy and the dog was obviously having a blast.  And ultimately that's what it's all about.

Here are a few more videos to watch if you are interested.

Confessions of a Cheerleader

Hello my name is Arlene and I'm a cheerleader.

Yes that's me, I like to talk with my dogs, I like to talk with my dogs sooo much that eventually my dogs wait for me to do all the work for them.

It's one thing to encourage your puppy to walk beside you, quite another when your puppy has grown up and should know their job.  And that's where I've got the problem.  Both of my dogs know exactly where they belong while walking beside me but because I'm constantly telling them they're soo good, soo special we've lost the flowing smoothness of team work.  The dogs are no longer doing their end of the job without my encouragement.  So how do I stop this annoying habit I've gotten into?  Well I tell you I am seriously considering a duct tape gag for myself.  No seriously, I'm having a very hard time shutting my mouth. So here's my exercise just for me, put the dog on a leash and look where I'm going, only watching the dogs with my peripheral vision. When the dogs are in position I'm to click and treat them. This is called clicking for position.  My job is now to concentrate on where my feet are going, single tracking on outside turns, foot planting on about turns etc.  Anything to take my mind off talking to my dogs.  Now the dogs can do their job of maintaining their position without me cheering them one.

Hopefully we'll see a big improvement in class this week.

Time to Curl up with a Good Book

No Blog Day Today

With all the wind and rain we're experiencing today I think I'm off to curl up with a good book.  But before I do, Sassy wanted you to check out this link. Now go find a good book to read.  See you all tomorrow.

Inspiration

Comes in many different forms.

There has been a commercial on TV advertising dog food (I think) and they have dogs catching treats or food in slow motion.  Zoe is an awesome catcher, she has been known to jump and twist and follow that treat to grab it.  No one is going to get that treat other than her.  So I thought I'd see if I could replicate the catch with my still camera, could have used the video but wanted stills. I conscripted my husband to toss the treats (cheese bits) and I manned the camera, Sassy Girl watched from a respectable distance. We used a whole string cheese and this was the sharpest photo I was able to get.  Zoe had fun though.  I'll be trying this again, so stay tuned for more jump'n fun with the Zoester.

Grooming Day

Look she has EYES!

Yesterday was grooming day at our house.  Now I am by no means a professional groomer and I mean no disrespect to all you groomers out there but when the chips are down and I need to save money then I'm going to groom these 2 my self.  I guess what it boils down to is if I can do a passable job and then have money to spend on training classes that just what I'm going to do.

 

By the end of the day Sassy Girl was very tired. As she was laying on the set I asked if she was tired and was rewarded with an eye rub. This is a trick that Sassy learned early on in her clicker training. I started by putting a paper clip in her eye brow, when she batted at it I clicked.  Only took a couple of goes for her to figure out it was the paw movement I was shaping not the eye brow.  After making double sure she knew what I was clicking I removed the paperclip, the first time she offered the eye rub I clicked.  Re-inforcing this I was eventually able to put the cue "Tired" to the action and now we get an eye rub every time.

Good Girl, Exercise Finished

Sippin' Sassy

We had a visitor in my home studio yesterday and they shared one of their doggy tricks with Sassy Girl.  How to sip from a straw. We spent about 10 treats clicking Sassy Girl for interacting with the cup and straw.  Eventually I was able to pass the clicker off to my friend and moved the cup to a more prominent location on the set.  We then simply asked Sassy to "touch" the straw.  And TaDah we have Sippin' Sassy.

Not to be outdone, Zoe jumped from the floor up, onto the set (my dining room table) sat and stared at the camera then opened her mouth and you could almost understand what she was saying..."it's my turn now!!"

CGN and my Sassy Girl

IT CAME IN THE MAIL 

We were soooooo excited.  Sassy received her Canine Good Neighbour certificate.

Sassy and I worked very hard to pass this test.  We had taken the test originally in the summer last year but unfortunately we didn't pass.  Sassy did not like  me being out of her sight for the 3 minute wait. 

So we worked, and we worked and we worked and all that hard work paid off.  This time when we took the test we were at a Rally-Obedience trial.  The test was held after the trial was finished and while the clean up crew was rolling up mats, lugging equipment and generally make a ton of noise.  Sassy sat beside the "stranger" holding her leash, I left the room, the suspense was almost unbearable. When I returned she had shifted her position but was still sitting waiting calmly for me to return.  No whining, no tugging at the leash, just calm and quiet. Apparently she glanced at the "stranger" inched a little closer to them and waited.

GOOD GIRL, EXERCISE FINISHED

Here's a link to more information on this test.

Sassy and her Flowers

Yesterday I was trying out a new lighting scheme in my home studio.  Both of my dogs are very used to having their pictures taken.  However, yesterday I tried something totally different.  I put the grooming mat I use on my dining room table.  Both dogs went out the doggy door and only came back with the promise of cheese.

Turns out they know exactly what happens on that mat and no matter what table it's on they are NOT going to willingly get on it.  I was a little surprised, though by now you would think I know these dogs can generalize.

Ultimately I was looking for a portrait of Sassy sniffing the flower. So I scooped her up put her on the table/mat and she immediately went down and wasn't going to get up.  Out comes the clicker, I offer the flower, she looks at me as if to say "that doesn't belong here".  A few clicks later, just for sitting then for tentatively offering a nose touch I was finally able to grab this shot.

No delicate little sniff but she did comply with a vigorous nose touch.

So next lesson, the grooming mat can be anywhere and doesn't necessarily mean grooming!

The Power of "The Click"

As some of you may know I have been using a clicker with my dogs for the past 3 1/2 years.  Sassy Girl started at 12 weeks when she came to live with us.  Zoe was almost a year old when I started working the clicker with her.  Prior to using the Clicker with Zoe I used the positive reward based method with a marker word for correct behaviour.  Consequently I have noticed a marked difference in my dogs learning curves.

Zoe is used to being put in the position, marked for correct position and treated for staying in position.  She understands that the click means a treat will follow.  She also understands when I put something, anything, on the floor at the beginning of our training sessions she is to interact in some way with that something.  But this is where her and Sassy differ.  Zoe will offer 2 or 3 behaviours, a nose touch, a nose touch with a play bow and a down.  When none of these illicit a click she just lays down beside the item and waits until I put it away.  I have never clicked this stopping nor have I rewarded it.  I always wait at least 1-2 minutes (and man is that a long time!!) staring at the object hoping she will offer up something different. When she stops working I just quietly pick up the item and ask her to  go to her spot and stay while Sassy has a turn.

In the mean time, Sassy has been laying on her spot, quietly waiting her turn.  When called she jumps up eagerly and runs to where the item was and waits.  With Sassy if she doesn't get a click right away she will offer different behaviours until she gets that click. It's sure a pleasure to watch her work out what it is I'm looking for.  She will offer nose touches, paw touches, stand and stare, stand, stare and wag your tail, (this one always makes me chuckle), stand, stare, wag your tail and lift a paw.  The behaviours she has seem to be endless.  So far I have yet to see her stop offering.  She has stood and stared at me for a few seconds, I will just stare at the item while she's doing this, she always goes back to it and starts offering up more behaviours.

In the following set of pictures I demonstrate this difference with my dogs. Note the date time stamp on the pictures.  This gives a reference to how quick behaviours are offered.  In Sassy's photos she was moving too fast for the camera to capture all of the steps she was taking.  I also set up each dog and ran them through the initial interaction/click without taking pictures, then I used a remote release to take the actual photos.  Both dogs figured out right away that the flash pop was the "Click" so I didn't have to click, take a photo and treat.  Way easier for me!!

The first picture is Zoe interacting with the book on a stand.

 

Then we have Sassy Girl.  Her time stamps between behaviours are a little bit longer. She is very methodical in her offerings. She offers, waits for the click, shifts, offers, waits etc.

Basically we started out with me clicking for the nose touch in the upper right corner. It took her a little bit longer to figure out it was her bum I wanted her to move and not her nose.  But she succeeded in the end.  Good Girl!!

I tried working both dogs together but every time I set Sassy up and then moved Zoe into the scene, Sassy would just walk away.  Apparently Sassy Girl is a bit of a Diva and only works Solo.  Funny Girl.  So I ended up blending two photos together in Photoshop and came up with this final product.

Next challenge, getting both dogs to hold their respective positions. Learning to work together will be fun.

Zoe-Mail

Recieved Some Warnings

While sorting through her inbox the other day Zoe came across some warnings that could affect her or any one of her many furry friends.

Apparently some drug company in the states recalled an anesthetic but forgot to tell the Vets?  Not sure how that works but here's the link to that story.

And then if that wasn't bad enough now there's an issue with treats.  Can it get any worse?  Zoe is very happy that we are making the transition from commercial to homemade treats.  Couldn't happen at a better time for her.

Go Read a Good Book

No blog today, take the day off, go read a good book, have fun.........

Cya tomorrow

Sassy Had Class

Just a quick follow-up on Sassy's Class last night.  All was going well, need to work a little more on focus while heeling, new place, other dogs all making this a challenge but we're working on it.

Came time to work on the jumps for the directed jumping.  Sassy has done jumps before but she decided she was going to duck under this jump, I laughed, made it worse, bad trainer.  So we started over with the leash and making her jump over.  The bar fell down, another bad choice on my part.  We should have walked away but I was stubborn, gonna make this work etc... In the end she did jump the bar and we moved on.  This morning we set up the jump and she sat off centre, I stood opposite also off centre, she took the jump as directed.  She only missed the jump once in 5 goes.  Finished that exercise on a good note and played with the rag toy.  Back to last night:  moved from the jump to working on our scent articles.  The class trainer suggested as this was the first time in a new place to make it easy for Sassy.  I only put out 6 articles total, scented and placed the first one, she went out had a look, got distracted forgot what she was doing came half way back, I sent her back she went right to the correct article, picked it up and brought it in.  Not too bad for a strange place.  We did a couple more, she worked very hard, only brought back one wrong article but went right back out for and picked up the correct one again.  Once again we ended on a good note, brought out the rag toy and had some fun.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how class went last night, just need to work on my choices more and we should make a good team.

Sassy Has Class

Off to Classes this evening

Sassy has some issues with working in a room full of other people and dogs.  She's not particularly worried about the dogs and people but more the noise and commotion. She's a bit sensitive to loud and or harsh words.  Something we are in this class to work through.

We've been working on our articles and in 2 different training locations she is performing them as requested.  Tonight we plan on working on this exercise in a different training atmosphere.  Different building, different dogs, different trainers. Hopefully we'll be able to work through all these distractions. 

Last week at this same location, and the first time too, we had a couple of stumbling blocks.  Really very minor in comparison to what we've come up against in the past. Sassy loves to do retrieves. We were asked to put our dogs on a flexi lead, something new for Sassy, and practice retrieves.  We had a couple of run ins with the lead, once on her pick up where she turns behind the item, picks it up and heads back, the lead got wrapped under her little stubby tail.  Oops that's not right, she made it about half way back and decided she didn't like the feel of that and sat down.  Handler error!!  I should have hit the lock button as soon as I noticed the problem and not let the lead slide across her little butt.  A lesson for me.  Same exercise, one of the trainers walked up, stood a little off to the side and watched us.  Sassy thought she was there to say hello and was half way over to her before I could say uh uh.  Tried again, Sassy went part way out looked at the trainer then made the right choice and continued on to the dumbbell.  Excellent, exercise finished.

So hopefully this week we have the same success with our articles.

What makes a good Treat?

Basically anything that your dog likes and he will work especially hard for.

Dried Liver Bits

After yesterdays training session I discovered I was getting dangerously low on liver bits.  So it's time to dry up some more.  I have some deer livers and hearts in my freezer, given to me by an avid hunter. I will pop these into my oven at 375° and cook until they are done, usually an hour or two depends on the size of the organs and the dogs don't care if they are over cooked.  Next I will let them come to room temperature, usually overnight. Then I slice them up as thin as possible. I have a small meat slicer that does a nice job but a good sharp knife works just as well.  Now I have a choice, use the oven set at 200°, spread the slices on a cookie sheet and let them dry, usually takes most of the day.  Or if you are fortunate enough to have a dehydrator you can use that, some of these are slower but they don't over heat your house and waste energy. My personal choice is my dehydrator.  When the slices are dry I put them in snack size zip-lock baggies, just the right size for a full training session. I store them in my doggy cupboard, a cool dry place. So far the dogs go wild for these bits and I haven't noticed any health issues, (hotspots etc.) from their use.  My last batch of liver was from an Elk, absolutely huge was that liver.  I had to cut it into 3rds in order to roast it up.  Now this is what I use for training, mixed up with some cheese strings and commercially produced treats, but these are the highest value treats in my treat bag.

My husband is the giver of cookies in our house.  These are freely given treats for just being a good dog.  We have one time of day that these treats are given out, 9 pm just before bedtime. Usually we have commercially produced biscuits for this treat but lately I've been thinking of my dogs health and weight issues.  I found a couple of sites I can visit and download recipes for treats that don't have a lot of preservatives and extras in them but are tasty for the dogs.  This site is full of lots of different recipes for the do-it-yourselfer. And if you want to send a gift to a friend I found this site.

20 Treats & a Clicker

This is what I start every training session with.

When the dogs see me go to the cupboard where the treats and clicker are kept they start going a little bit crazy.  Dancing and bouncing around me until I have the amount of treats counted out into each little dish and then the mad dash to the training space.

I mix up where we train, sometimes in the laundry room, sometimes in the living room, sometimes in my office, sometimes in the yard and sometimes on the covered patio.  Though I have to admit with the inclement weather of late we've mostly been doing our stuff indoors.

I always have a plan for our little training sessions.  For Zoe we've been working on our articles lately.  To be more exact it's the metal articles.  This is my basket of training articles.  The wooden and leather articles are homemade, blocks of wood and an old leather belt cut up and knotted into rounds with a leather shoe lace and a set of metal articles a friend gave to us.  We did start out using the metal rings from my canning cupboard though. 

When I first started clicker training. I used this to get my dogs to interact with something.

The method is called "101 Things to do with a Cardboard box".  You would be surprised what your dog can come up with.  Sassy was the most inventive of my two.  After about the 4th or 5th training session with the box she decided to try and put a toy in it.  By clicking this behaviour I was able to shape it and we use this as a trick.

Now I can put anything on the floor and both my dogs will try to interact with it.  Again, Sassy is the more inventive of the two, she will start out with nose touches, then paw touches, then mouthing, retrieving etc....

I have used the clicker to start Sassy using the skateboard.  We are up to tentatively moving the board.  When we first began with this trick I only had the board on the carpet, where it wouldn't suddenly roll away and startle the dogs.  Sassy progressed very rapidly from nose touching to climbing on board to taking one step. Now that she is doing that I have moved to a smoother carpeted area so the board actually moves.  She's just on the brink of making the connection between the board moving and her feet moving.  By this spring I expect we'll be outside with the rest of the kids skateboarding up and down the street.

The sky's the limit it seems for what you can train with a clicker and a hand full of treats.

Surf'n Sassy

Do Dogs Have a Sense of Humour?

Recently while watching my two dogs play and cavort about the house I noticed a distinct thread to their play.  When Sassy was trying to engage Zoe in play she would pick up one of the toys laying around and wave it in front of Zoe's face, hoping she would take the hint and grab it, thereby starting a game of tug.  Another favorite of Sassy's is to change toys in mid play, forcing Zoe to come and take the new toy away or engage in a different game of tug. Sassy will often use this tactic to gain the "preferred" spot on the couch.  Wooing Zoe off with a proposal of play and as soon as she complies Sassy will jump up into the "preferred" spot. 

Now Zoe on the other hand has a slightly different take. When Zoe was a puppy I often played the mouse under the blanket game with her.  She really enjoys this game and has taken it one step further.  I have an old afghan draped over the couch the dogs lay on.  Sassy will be laying on the couch, doing her best couch potato imitation.  Zoe will duck under the edge of the afghan and poke Sassy with her nose, becoming the mouse under the blanket.  They both enjoy this game though to date Zoe is the only one that plays the mouse role. 

So do dogs have a sense of humour?  Do they Laugh?  I think so and so do some other people on the net.

Here's a few sites that Sassy visited. A good story about a Cairn terrier with a wonderful sense of humour.  She particularly enjoyed the section about cavorting with the ladies personals. Then there's this one about a German Shepherd that the owner thinks is always laughing at her. Sassy then found this rather dry and not very funny, but very informative article.  It was written by a Dr. so she thought it was at least worth a read.  And finally there was this article about humour in other animals.

Zoe-mail

Zoe was very excited when she found this poster in her inbox just the other day.  She's been dancing circles around me ever since, wanting me to post it here for everyone to see.  She will most definately be at this seminar. She's hoping to see lots of her friends there too.

CANINE DRESSAGE & FREESTYLE

WORKSHOP

"Come out for a day of fun and music with or without your canine partner.  Learn how you can take ‘heeling’ to a whole new level, and have a lot of fun doing it"

Presented by two of “ Paws 2 Dance “ top Dressage and Freestyle exhibitors.… Lydia Francescutti   and Gail Walsh

Will be held at THE CUMBERLAND CULTURAL CENTER

SUNDAY March 21, 2010   From: 9 am - 12 noon  & 1 pm -4pm

(Pot Luck Lunch to be arranged)

COST:    Working Spot (with dog)………….$70.00

Auditing Spot (without dog)…………$40.00

For More Information - email coans@telus.net

For Registration  - email  wendy.w@shaw.ca

Back to Basics

Training day for Zoe.  I decided that Zoe must learn how to pick up a metal article.  She already knows how to "get it", has a good nose touch for the clicker but she has up until now refused to pick up the metal article.  Not sure why she decided she could do it today but I was very happy she did.  As you can see in the top photo she is standing there saying yeah so what do you want me to do.  She then offered a nose touch.

And from there the progression was very quick, she offered a tentative touch with her mouth but dropped it right away.

Finally we had success with a nice retrieve.

We have been working sporadically on this exercise for the past year and have always ended up with her refusing to mouth the article and me just giving in and letting it slide. Today was a break through day and I expect we will be moving along briskly from here on out.

Go out, smell the flowers, sniff the grass, relax

Today is a no blog day.

See you all tomorrow

Book Review

The Art of Proofing

By Adele Yunck

This book will help you take your training up a notch on virtually every exercise, while ensuring that you and your dog are well prepared for all of the usual and the unusual things we encounter in the ring.

I wouldn’t exactly call this book a “how to” manual, more of a source of inspiration and awareness enhancement.  The author does briefly discuss her training philosophy regarding teaching, chaining, and corrections but she does not preach that you must adhere to these methods.

Her section on “Categories of Proofs” demonstrates the many challenges that our dogs are subjected to at trials, whether those are sights, sounds, smells or social challenges. 

I most defiantly agree with this book’s section on “Progression of Proofs”.  It includes advice on careful introduction of proofs for cautious dogs. It reminds us that we should be prepared for mistakes when we proof, and that proofing exposes weaknesses in foundation training.  It encourages trainers to “…extract the hard part…” of an exercise for focused work, and reminds us not to be afraid of failures in training.

There are useful exercises interspersed throughout the book, particularly the 20 Treat Exercise, which helps shape attention, but also helps to evaluate how well your dog actually is doing with his skills by recording how long it takes him to offer you voluntary attention in a new setting.

There are great ideas for proofing when working on your own at home, and some creative and challenging ideas for class proofing projects. There are LOTS of good ideas on simulating hazards that happen during stays, such as other dogs breaking, approaching, or running around the ring, or dogs in adjacent rings doing retrieves or go outs.  It really makes you think about just how difficult those stays can be!

Throughout the book, the reader is reminded that proofing should build confidence and increase success, and should not scare a dog or cause it to shut down. The compact-sized book with spiral binding will be a valuable addition to your training bag.

Zoe-mail

While going through her inbox this morning Zoe came across a few things she'd like to share.

This is an awesome, inspiring freestyle routine, Bravo Emily and Henrietta!! Zoe gives this routine 2 paws up!

Zoe thought of her Gramma when reading this. Maybe more demos at Gramma's house are in order.

And finally she really liked this clip and is seriously thinking of trying it herself.

Surf'n Sassy

Sassy went surf'n today.
She was interested in how us humans picked our dogs names. So she googled Dog Names and came up with this interesting article about how your dogs name reflects their status in your family. She's still trying to figure out what her status is!!

Then she found this site that lists a bunch of names complete with the origin of the name. Truly a multi-cultural listing. She looked up her name but was disappointed to find it not on the list. She's thinking of sending them an e-mail.

She also read up on hints and tips on naming your dog here.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore and needed to lighten things up with this handy site she found.

After all this surf'n Sassy is glad she named herself!!

Sassy Girl

Sassy Girl PCD CGN

Who is only 3 and very shy is just starting to come out of her shell this past year. Though she truly does live up to her name of being a very Sassy Girl you would be hard pressed to see this in her in public. I guess she just saves the best of her for those of us closest to her at home.

Sassy did compete in the obedience ring this year and was able to obtain her Pre Companion Dog title. Sassy just loves to be right, and gets very upset if she does something wrong. We have been working very hard to overcome this obstacle as it’s most disheartening to have your dog just stop working when she knows she’s done something wrong. Lots of encouragement and treats have proved to help us with this little issue. We finally attended our first obedience class this last year and saw a great improvement in her attitude and workability over the previous year. Sassy loves her clicker and will do almost anything to get that little click (okay, okay it’s really the treat) but she is very enthusiastic when the clicker comes out. She has a huge repertoire of tricks and will gladly perform them anytime. We have been doing lots of higher level obedience training, even though we’re only trialing at the CD level. Sassy really likes her articles, especially when she gets to put them away at the end of practice. She will pick each one up and put it in the tote, wag her little stubby tail and go looking for another one to put away. Though Sassy can do the precision heeling required for Dressage and the tricks for Freestyle she objects to the loud music so we don’t compete in that sport. Agility isn’t really her thing either, after the second or third obstacle she stops and says that’s enough. We have been working on our Rally-O Novice title but if I hadn’t blown past a station last summer we would have had a first leg. Oh well, there’ll be another trial where I can hone my sign reading skills, or is that counting skills. Sassy has also passed her CGN (Canine Good Neighbour) test this past fall.

We’ve been having a lot of fun learning new skills (skateboarding is just the latest) and overcoming our shyness in public and I really look forward to many good times ahead with this little girl.